Chapter 32: Chapter 32: I Just Like Being Tormented by Her
Mrs. Lane rarely spoke to her son so harshly, but now he was in the urology ward because of a girl. How could she possibly stomach that?
But really, it was more heartache than anger. Her heart ached for her son. What kind of decent girl puts a man in the urology ward?
"Mrs. Lane, please don’t be upset. You’ll make yourself sick."
Beatrice Lynn, her own tears not yet dry, hurried over to rub Mrs. Lane’s back soothingly, the very picture of an obedient, understanding daughter.
"Mom, stop making a scene!"
Agitated by his mother’s words, Shawn Lane shot upright, accidentally jostling his injury. The pain made his face twist into a grimace. "Sssss—"
"Don’t move!" Seeing this, Mrs. Lane rushed over to check on him. "How is it? Should I call the doctor?"
Sweat beaded on Shawn Lane’s forehead from the pain, but he looked at his mother earnestly and pleaded, "Mom, I’m begging you. Please, stop going after Cecilia Sterling. I can handle things between us."
In truth, Shawn Lane harbored some resentment toward his mother. The day Cecilia Sterling had so abruptly broken up with him was the very same day his mother had secretly arranged to meet her.
Everything had gone wrong after that meeting at the coffee shop. He didn’t know what his mother had said to Cecilia, but he was certain she had something to do with it.
That was why he couldn’t let his mother go after Cecilia again. He already felt like an ant on a hot pan; he truly couldn’t handle any more complications, no matter how small.
"Shawn, snap out of it, will you!" Mrs. Lane was exasperated by his stubbornness. "You’re in this state, and you’re still thinking about her? Are you a masochist or something?"
"Yes!" Shawn Lane snapped, nodding sharply. "So what if I like Cecilia Sterling tormenting me? So what if I like it when she hurts me? I just like her!"
Seeing his crazed expression, Mrs. Lane was choked speechless.
Her face was a mask of grief and helplessness. In that moment, it seemed she had lost all her strength and run out of tactics.
After a long moment, she took a deep breath and nodded. She knew her son’s health was the most important thing right now. She relented, "Fine. I won’t cause her any trouble for now. But if this leaves you with any permanent damage, I swear I won’t let her off the hook!"
"The doctor said there won’t be any major issues," Shawn Lane said, his expression grim.
Mrs. Lane snorted but said nothing more. Instead, she opened the container of restorative soup she had brought and sat down. "Have some. Miss Fletcher simmered it all night. It’s very nourishing."
"Just set it down. You two can go. I want to get some sleep."
It was true; he was exhausted. He hadn’t been able to sleep well for the past two days, the pain constantly waking him.
Mrs. Lane had wanted to stay a little longer, but Shawn Lane had already turned on his side. She took a silent, deep breath and snapped the lid back onto the thermos.
"Remember to drink it. Just focus on getting better."
With those parting words, she left the room. Beatrice Lynn gave Shawn Lane a look of longing, but he didn’t even bother to glance her way. Her lips trembled in a wounded pout before she turned and followed Mrs. Lane out.
"Beatrice, go and get a copy of Shawn’s medical report from the doctor for me."
In the hallway, Mrs. Lane said to Beatrice Lynn, her expression weary.
Beatrice Lynn froze. "Mrs. Lane, didn’t you say you weren’t going to the school?"
Mrs. Lane gave a cold laugh. "That was just for Shawn’s benefit. Did she think she could injure my son like this and get away with it? Not a chance!"
A flash of delight crossed Beatrice Lynn’s face, and she nodded eagerly in agreement. "You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Lane. That Cecilia Sterling is a born menace. If she stays by Shawn’s side, she’ll ruin him sooner or later."
"But please don’t be too angry with Shawn, Mrs. Lane. He’s just completely under Cecilia Sterling’s thumb right now. He’s so infatuated that it’s only natural he won’t listen to reason. When he finally comes to his senses, he’ll realize you’re only doing this for his own good."
Mrs. Lane looked at Beatrice Lynn, a comforted smile spreading across her face. "If only Shawn were half as sensible as you. Now, hurry along. I’ll wait for you here."
The temperature had suddenly spiked today, but it was perfectly comfortable inside the air-conditioned dorm room.
Cecilia Sterling held half a watermelon on her lap as she and Estelle Goodman sat squeezed together, watching a variety show. They were utterly content, bursting into fits of laughter every few moments.
Estelle Goodman wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and asked Cecilia casually, "Honey, are you going home for the National Day holiday?"
The smile hadn’t yet left Cecilia Sterling’s face when her expression froze. The smile slowly vanished, and she finally nodded. "I am."
’There were things she had done wrong in her past life. For decades after, she’d never found redemption, carrying her guilt toward her mother to the very end.’
’Even though she knew she had a chance to choose differently this time, her heart twisted painfully whenever she remembered her mother on her deathbed, holding her hand and saying, "I hope you can forgive me."’
’She had forgiven her mother long ago, but she’d never gotten the chance to say she was sorry, to ask her mother to forgive her, too.’
Sensing the shift in Cecilia’s mood, Estelle Goodman instinctively put down her piece of watermelon. "What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?"
Cecilia Sterling shook her head, forcing a smile as her expression returned to normal. "It’s nothing. I just miss my mom."
"I remember you have a younger brother, right?"
Cecilia Sterling nodded. "Yeah. He has his college entrance exams next year."
"That’s nice. I’m an only child. I always kind of wished my mom would have another kid, but I don’t really like small children. It’d be perfect if I could just get a younger sibling who was already old enough for their college entrance exams."
Seeing Estelle’s earnest expression, Cecilia Sterling laughed. "With an imagination like that, it’s a real shame you’re not in the astronomy department with me."
Just then, Cecilia Sterling’s phone rang. It was a voice call.
Director Lawson usually sent a text if he needed something; he rarely made a direct voice call. Cecilia knew it must be urgent, so she got up and walked out onto the balcony to answer.
"Director Lawson."
"Cecilia, are you on campus? Whether you are or not, get to the President’s office right now. It’s urgent."
"The President’s office?"
Cecilia was baffled. To be honest, she’d been enrolled for over a year and had no idea where the President’s office was.
She’d never had any reason to go!
"Yes. Just start heading over. I’ll text you the details. Think about how you’re going to handle this on the way."
From Director Lawson’s tone, Cecilia knew this had to be serious.
Cecilia hung up and didn’t waste a second. Seeing her about to leave, Estelle offered to go with her, but Cecilia stopped her. "It’s boiling out there. You stay here in the dorm. I’ll be back soon."
Sensing that Cecilia had official business to attend to, Estelle didn’t insist. She just nodded and said, "Text me if you need anything."
Once she was out of the women’s dormitory, Cecilia opened her umbrella against the sun. She read the message from Director Lawson as she walked, trying to get a handle on the situation, completely oblivious to her surroundings.
So as she was cutting across the basketball court, she was given a real fright when someone suddenly jumped out from the side!
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